The Nashville Predators liked what Mikael Granlund did down the stretch last season to help them make the playoffs, so they rewarded the unrestricted free agent with a four-year, $20 million deal.
"Signing Mikael to a contract that will keep him here in Nashville was a priority for us as we entered the free agency period," general manager David Poile said in a statement. "He has been one of our most consistent players since he joined the Predators, played a crucial role in helping turn our team around last season and fits in extremely well with our team chemistry and the identity we are trying to build."
Granlund had seasons with 69 points and 67 points before a trade to Nashville in February 2019 for Kevin Fiala. After that the players went in opposite directions. Fiala has scored more than 20 goals in each of the last two seasons. Granlund had 30 points two seasons ago and 27 last season.
After the 30-point campaign Granlund took a paycut on a one-year deal to stay in Nashville.
Under coach John Hynes, though, Granlund did show more consistency. He also stepped into the center spot when Matt Duchene was injured and won almost 52% of his faceoffs.